Experiment 5068
by 263Adder
Summary: Reginald Hargreeves tests the abilities of his adopted children in preparation for sending them out into the field. Vanya is called upon to assist. Then and Now series: Part 1.
1. 506801

She was the only one inside; her siblings had all gathered in the courtyard at the back of the house which her bedroom overlooked. They seemed to be waiting for something, but she didn't have time to call to them and ask. Father had demanded her presence, and she had to get to him.

Running up the stairs leading to the roof, she rushed to his side.

"Father?" Number Seven called out hesitantly as she spotted him waiting on the ledge.

"Over here, Number Seven." Father's voice came, dispassionate with a slight edge of impatience.

Their Father was standing with a stopwatch and his red notebook held in hand. She tried to glimpse at his notes over his shoulder, wondering what today's experiment would be.

"You'll be my assistant today." He informed her.

Together they looked down at the waiting children.

"A new task." Father announced, raising his voice to be heard. "A rescue. Rescuing Number Seven to be precise."

"Rescuing her from what?" Number Six called out cautiously.

"The building." Father responded. "Each of you will take it in turns. You need to get her off the roof and down to the ground, unharmed in as fast a time as you can manage."

He wasted no more time with explanations, just as her brother made no hesitations when his name was called.

"Number One."

Running to the door he found it locked. He could easily break it but looked for permission first.

"I think you'll find all the doors leading to the roof are locked. And you're wasting precious time – if this building was on fire Number Seven could only have minutes."

Taking a few steps back, Number One launched himself at the building and climbed. He was still learning to moderate his strength and bits of stone broke away where he grabbed too tightly or pushed his foot too hard to heave himself up. Their Father didn't mind, he only watched the stopwatch and made his notes.

Putting his foot on a window ledge, One pushed up into another jump and landed heavily on the floor beside them. He glanced at his Father but he continued to watch the time, reminding Number One that his aim was not solely to get up but also to get Number Seven down.

Arms outstretched, he waited a moment as if looking for permission, before scooping her up in his arms.

She had tried to prepare herself since learning of the task but couldn't restrain the scream which escaped her when Number One leapt off the edge of the roof and brought them both crashing down to earth.

Their siblings wisely backed out the way of their landing, the ground shaking as Number One took the brunt of their impact with her safely curled in his arms like a football.

The stopwatch clicked off as Number One lowered her to the ground on unsteady legs before walking away to Number Three's side without a backwards glance. Three was impressed with the jump, bringing a smile to One's face.

"Number Two. Sometimes a situation requires more stealth." Father called. "I believe you've been practicing your lock picking as instructed?"

"Yes, Father." Number Two replied, removing a thinner set of tools from his belt than the knives Number Seven usually saw during her sibling's training sessions.

"Number Seven, you come up first. Be quick about it."

Pogo opened the door then, ushering her into the house and locking the door behind him. He was behind her as she hurried through the house, securing every door between them on his masters orders.

Bursting through the top door, Seven was gasping for breath as she reached her Father's side but he was unconcerned.

"You may begin, _now_."

Placing the stopwatch on top of the book, he reached into his pocket and withdrew a set of keys.

"Hold onto these, Pogo has more important things to do this afternoon."

Accepting them, she placed them into the pocket of her blazer.

This time she moved over to the door rather than waiting by Father's side. She was overdue one of her pills for the afternoon and she could already feel the struggle to stay calm.

Seven knew if she cried in front of him she'd get an undue amount of scorn.

She traced the outline of the door with her eyes, focusing on one corner where the paint had bubbled and peeled. Ideally she would seek solace in her violin to soothe her frayed nerves, however she couldn't picture her father permitting her to use her siblings training session for her own practice. No, she had to stand still and be the perfect victim.

Her heart rate and breathing had returned to normal by the time she heard Two struggle with the lock. He was muttering under his breath but Father couldn't hear him.

The door banged open. Two barely slowed as he grabbed her arm in a vice grip and dragged her down the stairs. He only spoke when they were out of Father's earshot.

"C-come on! Can't y-you go any f-faster?"

She could.

"No." She said instead, only lightly jogging by his side.

Number Two had been mean to her all week, and she knew how much he liked to win.

"Oh, _c-come on_! I'll never beat O-one now – it's not even f-fair! He just had to scale the house, I had to run through it _w-w-ith_ locked doors in the way. Just go _faster_!"

She nearly fell down the stairs leading into the main foyer but her brother was too focused on the finishing line to notice, determined to be the best. He dragged her all the way outside with his fingers digging too hard into her skin.

Six grabbed her as she stumbled once Two released her.

"Take a couple of deep breaths." Six suggested, keeping an arm around her wobbling frame. Seven tried to comply but her lungs were already starting to ache – she didn't train like the rest, she didn't play with the rest during scheduled recreation hours, she wasn't used to running around like this.

"You didn't have to drag her here." Number Five told Two's back as he walked off, noticing how she was trying to rub sensation back into her lower arm.

Five was the only one who really noticed her these days, Six was more concerned with Four. The rest just found her annoying.

Father had already moved on with no comment on the performance, leaving Number Two disappointed as usual.

"Seven." He commanded again.

Sighing, she tried to shoot her brothers a reassuring smile, but it didn't sell. She seemed to smile less and less these days and it worried her how the upward movement of her facial muscles almost felt foreign.

Pulling the keys from her pocket she made her way back upstairs.

"Number Three." Father said, once Seven had closed the door behind her. "On an occasion when a suspect is proving difficult to apprehend crowd control may become necessary."

Her sister looked uncomfortable as their father explained the task although she must have known she would have to use her power on Seven. Still, under the scrutiny of her adoptive Father, she marched into the middle of the courtyard from the sidelines and waited for the stopwatch to start again.

"Go to the ledge, Number Seven."

Walking to the edge she looked down at Three, who cupped her hand to her mouth.

"_I_ heard a _rumour_..." she called up, "that you ran out the building as _fast_ as you could."

Three had only used her powers on Seven once before – to make her stop practicing her violin one afternoon. She had been holed up in her room since breakfast, their father telling her to wait there so she wouldn't disturb her siblings. According to Six their team training hadn't gone so well which was apparently why Seven's melancholy choice of music grated so harshly on her sister's nerves that afternoon.

"I heard a rumour that you didn't play that _stupid_ violin anymore!" She had yelled through Seven's open door, slamming the door to her own bedroom behind her not a few moments later.

The violin had immediately dropped from her hands, like her body had suddenly become powerless to support its weight. The delicate neck broke on impact but Seven could only stare at it, wanting but unable to reach out for it.

Pogo silently had it replaced within hours, with no mention to her father. Three had shyly returned that evening after a long talk with One and undone her command, offering a small apology before excusing herself back downstairs. The others were playing a game of tag, making the most of a rare unobserved evening as their Father was out for a meeting. She could hear them shouting – mainly that Five was cheating – but no call came beckoning her to join them.

Seven had picked up her violin and resumed her gloomy rehearsal once she was sure they were all back out of earshot.

Like the last time Number Seven had no choice but to follow her sister's words. She ran faster than she ever thought possible, nearly throwing herself headfirst down the steps to get out the building _as fast_ as she could.

She wished she had locked the doors behind her on her way up; it would have created obstacles to slow her and created an opportunity to catch her breath. As it was she nearly blacked out as her mind finally regained control over her body, sinking to the ground the instant she set foot outside the building.

"She's here." Number Three shouted.

"I do not see her." Father responded, stopwatch still ticking.

Three darted towards her and, supporting her body, pulled her forward into view.

"Just lean on me." She told Number Seven softly.

"Here she is."

Father muttered to himself and scrawled in his notebook. "You should have told her to get to the courtyard, if there was more than one person they could block the doorway and bottleneck."

"Yes, Father." Number Three replied, her head drooping.

"H-how is this fair?" Number Two said, his voice only for those in the courtyard. "I had locks to p-p-pick. Three didn't even have to g-go up there."

"At least all of us aren't being forced to run up and down the building six times. You don't hear Seven complaining." Five retorted, grinning as he effectively shut his brother up.

"How're you doing?" Number Three asked her quietly.

"Bit tired. But thanks for telling me to go through the building instead of climbing down it." Seven tried to chuckle. She was more than a bit tired. She didn't know what burned worse; her legs or her lungs.

"Don't worry, Seven." Four said, moving to stand beside them. It was his turn next. "I don't care what my time is, we can walk through the building."

"Thanks." Seven exhaled, relieved.

Checking his watch Father announced they would take a short break first and the glare he shot at her said that the break was Seven's fault.

It seemed he would never forgive her for her humanity.

"Number One. A moment." Father added.

One shot a confused look at Three but readily obeyed, heading upstairs.

Pulling away from Three, Seven went to sit on the bench.

Five and Six looked nervous where they stood together. Father had been pushing Five to try teleporting with someone else and had questioned whether Six's powers only had lethal capabilities. They were worried that he intended for them to test this on Seven.

Four went over to them, joining in on their quiet discussion.

She was tempted to go to her brothers and reassure them somehow, but it was a relief to sit and she was in no rush to get back up. Still, she sensed the weight of her Father's disappointed gaze above her and knew he was expecting her to push through.

Standing she went back into the building without a word, passing One silently on the staircase. Her siblings only noticed she'd left when Father summoned Four.

"Quickly."

Four hesitated a second before realising that was the only instruction he would get. He sprinted up the building, going as fast as his, currently too long for his body, legs would carry him.

Again, Seven stayed by the door. She didn't want to stand beside her Father, she couldn't bear it.

The door opened more gently then when it had heralded Two's arrival, and Four offered her his hand rather than dragging her by the arm.

He kept a hold of her hand and, as promised, they walked through the house, going only a little faster than they normally would.

"I think he's getting ready to send us out into the field now." Four said as they reached the second floor.

Seven was surprised. "Already?"

She knew how powerful her siblings were, as they liked to constantly remind her of the fact at every opportunity. But they were still children and not particularly cautious ones either. It didn't seem right to send them into danger – wasn't that what the police were for?

"Apparently we need to prepare for our _destiny_." Four said, making quote marks with his free hand as he scoffed out the final word.

He squeezed her hand after a glance at her face. "We'll be fine, Seven. Hey, do you think Dad will let you tag along? Watch us beat up all those bad guys." Four joked, dropping her hand to pretend he was fighting an invisible baddie in front of them.

It was a good thing there were five other siblings to watch his back if he really punched like that.

"Doubtful." She sighed.

"Well at least you get to see us in action at home. I bet you'll be the envy of all the girls – getting to live with the four devastatingly handsome boys who saved the world."

"Four?" Seven laughed.

"Oh yeah – One doesn't count. He frowns too much for anyone to find him attractive."

She grinned, the smile blooming naturally. "I'll remember that."

The pair were still smiling as they exited the building. Four tried to get them to skip to the middle of the courtyard but Seven had shrunk back to her normal size as they stepped into the sun and quickly disentangled herself from him.

Looking at Five she gave him a small smile which he barely stopped pacing long enough to acknowledge with one of his own.

Father held up the stopwatch, "_Six_ minutes, Number Four."

"Sorry. I fell down the stairs." Four lied, rubbing the back of his head for emphasis.

"In which case you had best go to Grace." He replied, his tone dubious.

Four and Seven went back inside together, separating in the foyer as Four went down to the kitchen.

Heading back upstairs, Seven twisted her hands together nervously. She hoped Father didn't really want Five to jump to get her – while she thought Five had a good handle on his powers she wasn't thrilled at being a human guinea pig so their Dad could push his abilities even further. Maybe he would just teleport to the roof then they could run downstairs. For Five she'd run as fast as she did for Three, though far more willingly.

Sir Hargreeves was standing where she had last left him, looking down over the ledge.

"There you are, Number Seven." Father said, far more gently than his usual tone. It set the hairs on the back of her neck on edge.

"Proceed to the ledge please."

Obeying, she walked until she was visible to her siblings and waited for further instructions.

"Good. Now jump please."

Her head whipped around, her voice shrill as she asked, "_What_?"

"Number One is ready to catch you should Number Five not be up to the task. He will jump up to catch you. You shouldn't be harmed."

She stared into those dispassionate eyes and liked to think for one moment she saw some flicker on concern. It was quickly replaced with a quick reminder of his instructions.

"_Jump_, Number Seven."

Walking forward she held one foot off the ledge, gulping as she heard a loud gasp and several shouts from her siblings.

Why did the girls only get skirts for their uniforms, she thought nervously.

Number One met her eyes and nodded his head, ready for her. She nodded back – she'd seen him train, he could do this. Hopefully.

With a big inhale she stepped forward and over the edge. She clamped her mouth shut to try to suppress another scream but she couldn't force her eyes to shut out the image on an approaching ground.

As the wind whipped past her ears, she seemed to notice a series of things happen in almost slow motion.

Number One ran forward and was preparing to leap just as Number Two evidentially tried to do the same, forcing a collision that knocked them both backwards. Six was pulling off his jacket while Five disappeared in a flash of blue.

There was a tug on her arm and then she was dangling. Dangling was an improvement on falling.

Looking up she saw Five's grimace as he pulled her up into the bedroom he had teleported into.

She helped push herself in once she was at the right height to get a foothold on the window ledge.

"_Five_."

Despite her attempts at bravery her voice had been reduced to a whimper.

"I've got you. You're fine." He reassured, finally pulling her into the room.

Five didn't do hugs but Seven didn't hold back, throwing her arms around his neck and clinging on tightly.

With a sigh he asked, "Why did you do that?"

"Dad told me to."

"He's not our Father, Seven. No real Father would make their children jump off roofs."

"I know." Seven whispered into his shoulder.

She was trying to convince her arms to let go when he unexpectedly hugged her back.

Seven could count the number of hugs she had received from Five on one hand; to that day she'd never received one so fierce.

"I think now would be the time to bring up a well-known Kōan, if someone told you to jump off a cliff..."

Seven laughed.

"You don't laugh enough." Five said sadly, poking her in the ribs.

"I know."

"You don't say much either." He pointed out, pulling back a bit. With a slightly cautious hand he smoothed her bangs back down where they had gotten stuck up when she'd buried her head in his shoulder.

"Well those pills he gave me are supposed to make me better." Seven excused, trying to make her tone bright. She hated those pills, they made her feel so tired.

"I didn't know there was anything wrong with you."

Seven scrunched up her nose, unwilling to believe him. There was nothing special about her; that in itself meant that there was something wrong with her. The only one who was powerless, with not one redeeming feature to make up for that fact. Even her music was average at best to her own ears.

"I guess I should go back upstairs."

"No – you're coming downstairs first." Five argued. "I'm still on the clock remember. Besides, I think One and Two are arguing and that's always fun to watch."

Five didn't hold her hand like Four did, but he stayed close enough that their shoulders bumped into each other as they trudged back through the house.

Seven cleared her throat. "How do you do it?"

"Hmm?"

"Say no to him?"

"Because I don't care what he thinks." Five replied, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"But you still do all the training."

"Because I want to. I _want_ to get stronger."

She nodded, trying to keep her face clear of sadness.

"Hey." He bumped into her again. "I'm not risking you by teleporting together but I bet I can teach you how to throw a good punch tomorrow if you meet me after training."

"Really?" She asked disbelievingly. None of the six had ever invited her to train and, even though she didn't think Father would allow it, the offer still made her smile.

"Yeah – you're a part of the Academy. Need to know how to protect people, right?"

Five held the door open and ushered her outside where Six quickly pulled her into a hug; the second rare hug of the day, although that was because it was uncommon to get a hug from Six which Four didn't immediately jump on top of. He must still be inside with Mom.

"You scared the hell out of me." Six grumbled.

She wouldn't admit it to anyone because she loved Six dearly and knew it would hurt him to hear, but she found it slightly alarming when he pulled her close as she could feel whatever it was in his chest moving ever so slightly. To that day she had never seen them. Six was very careful about that, despite her curiosity.

So she was glad for the interruption her other siblings provided.

"Seven."

"Ven." Two called out over One.

Six slid an arm over her shoulder and joined the higher numbers in a disapproving glare directed at the pair.

"I was going to catch you..."

"_Two_ crashed into _me_, I swear I was going to..."

The two tried to talk over one another again, prompting a laugh from Five. He never failed to find their competition for the role of team leader hilarious. And pointless.

"_One_ got in the way..."

"You _saw_ I was going to catch you, like Father told _me_ to..."

"Are you okay?" Three asked over them.

"I'm fine." Seven responded meekly.

"_Good_, Number Seven." Father said, the first time he had complimented her since she perfected Brahms' Third Violin Sonata two months ago. She hated herself a little for it but her spirits raised at the small praise he offered.

"Number One and Number Two, however. You could have gotten Number Seven killed."

Under his gaze the children always acted in two ways. The undisguised look of guilt, shame and disappointment or thinly veiled anger. Usually Two would be the first to complain but his failure to work with Number One had put one of them at risk – the one member of the Umbrella Academy who needed protecting the most – that was something that couldn't happen and he knew it.

"Number Seven, back upstairs please."

Six held onto her for a moment. "Just wait by the door for me, okay?"

Nodding, she made her way upstairs one final time.

She passed Mom and Four on her way. Mom was trying to make Four take a nap in his room, much to his displeasure.

"Mom, I'm _fine_! It was just a little fall."

"Then why do you keep rubbing your head?" Grace asked, confused by the mixed signals her son was sending.

Opening the door to the roof, Seven stood by it as Six had asked.

"Number Seven?" Father called, raising her attention.

"Yes, Father." She replied, holding her ground.

He seemed to hesitate before asking: "Have you remembered to take your medicine today?"

"Yes."

She would, once this was over. She was only an hour or two late, it shouldn't matter.

He walked back to the ledge and started the clock for Six, giving her brother no scenario or additional instructions.

Tapping her foot, Seven experimented with the rhythm. She kept herself quiet so as to not draw Father's attention but allowed the noise to grow in her head, wishing she had her instrument in hand to develop it.

Six opened the door, and she felt something decidedly not a hand grab her wrist.

Looking down she harshly bit down on her lip to avoid a shriek, drawing a little blood as she did.

The pair stood still, Six not pushing her to move until she grew used to the appearance of the tentacle wrapped around her.

Their lack of movement drew the attention of Sir Hargreeves who had kept his back to the 'rescues' by his other children so far.

"Good, Six. How is your control?"

"They don't want to hurt her." Six said, sounding amazed by the creature's reaction to Number Seven. The creature which had no qualms about ripping anything in its path to pieces.

He looked down at his appendage, only one having emerged from under his jumper. It swayed harmlessly in the breeze and held Seven's wrist so loosely she knew she could easily pull away if she wanted.

"The time's ticking, Number Six." Father reminded them.

Opening the door, Six led Seven down the stairs onto the next floor.

"Here, I'll let go now." He said once they were out of their Father's hearing range.

The tentacle released her but stayed close and Seven reached for it, surprising both Six and herself.

It curled around her fingers gently and she allowed it to hold her.

"Oh," she breathed, "I think it likes me."

Six laughed, "Everybody likes _you_, Seven. Even the monsters, apparently."

There were a lot of people who didn't like her, but she was too entranced by the creature's limb to dwell on that. The appendage was lightly mottled, with a slightly rubbery texture resembling that of a squid. The tip which held her was slender, although the tentacle became thicker the closer it got to Six's abdomen – a space it somehow resided virtually unnoticeable under his jumper. She wanted to ask more about it, wondering how it must feel, but she knew Six was often unwilling to discuss his violent powers and didn't want to push him.

"It's not a monster." Seven chided. She found it hard to ascribe such a harsh word to a creature playing with her so gently, even if she was aware of the brutality it was capable of.

Six stared at her in disbelief, even more so when another tentacle unwittingly joined the first and tickled Seven behind the ear; the girl cried in delight.

"S-stop it," she gasped around a laugh, "that tickles!"

"Unbelievable." He muttered before joining her in a laugh. Four was going to be jealous when he found out about this. "Come on, monster fodder. The others will think we got lost."

Number Four joined them on the stairs, having escaped Mom.

"Did I miss something?" He asked, watching the scene unfold before him.

"All the time."

Four ignored Six and watched the two make their way down to the front door. Six's tentacles were now fully surrounding Seven, swaying harmlessly around her.

Six got the slowest time out of them all, but the siblings agreed he had 'won' hands down.


	2. 506803

It had been three weeks and Vanya was being _so_ careful. She'd cut her medicine down, weaning her young body off it a bit at a time while creating the illusion she was still dutifully following Reginald's instructions. Her powers were reawakening but they were still weakened, making them more manageable for her to experiment with when the house was empty or when she was sure everyone else was asleep.

Her siblings believed, or so it appeared, that Vanya had awoken in the past with no memory of instigating the apocalypse.

The _actual_, _to god_, _apocalypse_ – something she still couldn't wrap her head around even as she heard the power crackle in her ears.

She wished she could go to Five or Ben for help in managing it, in learning control, but Vanya knew they'd tell the rest of their siblings and she wasn't ready for that yet. There was still a simmering rage directed at the lower numbers, Luther and Allison in particular. And after the events in the cabin she still wasn't convinced that Allison wouldn't try to use her powers on her once again.

Before she could speak nowadays she had to think hard, ensuring she wouldn't give herself away – by using their names rather than their numbers or mentioning anything that happened in the future. It was exhausting, but she couldn't bring herself to trust them. Trust that they wouldn't lock her up, wipe her memory and drug her into oblivion again.

If they did that a second time she was certain it would break her irrevocably. And if _she_ broke, her flimsy attempts at control would break with her. Which would be bad news for the world.

The guilt was overwhelming at times, but it couldn't quite outweigh the joy she suddenly seemed to be capable of feeling again. It hadn't occurred to her before how _numb_ she was to everything. Feelings registered back then, but they didn't empower, engulf or energise her. Now she seems to find joy in everything – music brings tears to her eyes, Klaus' jokes do too. Seeing Ben makes her feel radiant. Having Five back, hopefully for the rest of her renewed childhood, makes her giddy.

The toss of the coin, she feels all the negatives more powerfully too. When Allison had used her powers on Pogo the other day in training, she'd felt like bringing the room down. Thankfully she wasn't capable of that yet, but she did put a small crack in her bedroom wall when she went upstairs. She cut a photo out of a magazine to cover it with.

There were other days when she looked at Allison and wanted to cry, knowing how devastating losing Clare must be for her.

In the end, it was their _Father_ who posed the biggest risk to her sanity. With every dismissive gesture, every demand made upon her siblings, every callous word cast in their direction. Vanya wanted to kill him most days and when she didn't she wanted to beg for his attention.

At least she could see she wasn't alone in her torn reaction to the now alive Reginald Hargreeves but her siblings were proving amazingly tolerant. She guessed because any challenge to the current system would alert Reginald, Pogo and her that this timeline was different. However, her siblings behaviour towards her was markedly different to the first time around. So much so, she was concerned they would inadvertently tip off the adults that things had changed.

They were being _so_ nice to her and it made her want to cry because she knew there was only one motive behind it.

The original Number Seven was beaming with every invitation and she let that emotion shine in her eyes, watching her sibling's faces light up with the belief that their plan was working – that their new opportunity to rectify the past would absolve them of their original sins.

The White Violin snarled at every attempt and wanted to scorn them; keep them at arm's length as they had always done to her.

Vanya worked so hard to keep her hidden beneath the surface, but she knew suppressing her completely was ineffective and would cause more problems than it would solve. Her control was delicate, never more so then when she picked up her violin. She felt nervous playing it as she knew if she allowed herself to get lost in the music she would risk the delicate grasp over her fledgling powers. Still, abandoning it would be a big warning sign to her siblings.

She only picked it up in moments of happiness, unlike her original childhood when she used it for solace. And even in those moments she didn't allow herself to fully feel. When picking songs she chose the most complex pieces she was studying at the time so her mind would be occupied with scales and scores. Unfortunately in adulthood she had mastered most of them and her increasingly free mind found them easy to translate through her fingers.

Knowing which test her siblings were facing today, she came up with ideas; looking for something else she could use. She needed a challenge, something that would allow her to play and throw off the others from discovering her secret, while still maintaining control over the White Violin.

Last week she had drawn a full set of piano keys on some cardboard Pogo had provided her and started learning; there was no sound of course, but it was an interesting experiment that took up an afternoon while Reginald spent the afternoon torturing her siblings with some new, but not new, training activity.

Watching them trudge back into the house had brought the White Violin a vindictive joy but Vanya pitied them, knowing the only reason they were going through this again was for her.

No, not for her. For the world, the White Violin corrected.

During her siblings training sessions she had taken to experimenting with her powers, understanding now that she needs to release the energy within her sometimes otherwise she could never perfect mastery. In the future she'll need bigger spaces, somewhere more open with fewer people nearby, but she knows for now her siblings are observing her. So she stays within the house, careful to keep her back to where she can feel the cameras watching and to keep her experiments small.

Allison wasn't training today. Mom said she'd sprained her ankle during their last training session and needed to keep it elevated. She'd been surprised Reginald hadn't pushed Allison to attend anyway, given all he required was her voice, but he followed Grace's advice and allowed her to remain inside.

After receiving word from Pogo that her Father had summoned her to the roof, she allowed the day to progress as it originally had – albeit with some minor changes.

She didn't scream when Luther jumped off the roof with her in his arms, although she had to work hard to keep a grimace from crossing her face when he picked her up and held her to his chest. It brought back some memories she hadn't yet learned how to forgive.

Diego didn't drag her down the stairs this time. When he emerged on the roof he held the door open for her and politely led her down. At one point he even tried to make small talk. It was stinted and they quickly relapsed into silence, but Vanya was surprised by how much effort he seemed to be putting into improving their relationship.

Three wasn't there to force her down the stairs so they immediately moved on to Four who was still his usual self as he led her downstairs, although this time he started skipping straight away.

"I don't know why anyone walks – skipping is so much more fun."

Vanya smiled, walking beside him instead of skipping too. She wasn't much in a skipping mood, it felt like she had too much to focus on today. That there were too many potential pitfalls to trip her up. Today was the first day she was taxing herself physically and she could feel the White Violin rebel at being rescued – after all, a few weeks ago it had been them who needed rescuing from _her_. Her only concession to her power was her refusal to scream or cry. There would be none of that today.

Klaus was holding her hand while they slowly made their way back through the house. She wasn't exhausted like last time, as Allison hadn't made her run, but she was still thankful that he was content to maintain a sedate pace.

"I think he's getting ready to send us out into the field now." Four said as they reached the second floor.

She knew as much. "Already?"

"Do you think Dad will let you tag along? Watch us beat up all those bad guys." Four joked.

"Doubtful." She sighed, knowing full well he wouldn't.

"Well at least you get to see us in action at home. You'll be the envy of all the girls – getting to live with the four devastatingly handsome boys who saved the world."

"Four?" Vanya laughed, remembering she had laughed.

"Oh yeah – One doesn't count. He frowns too much for anyone to find him attractive."

She grinned again. "I'll remember that."

When she returned to the roof again, she knew what was coming and barely blinked at Reginald's command.

"There you are, Number Seven." Reginald said, in a gentle tone. He was playing her. "Proceed to the ledge please."

Obeying, she walked until she was visible to her siblings and waited for further instructions.

"Good. Now jump please."

Turning around with her feet still on the edge she looked back at him.

"Number Seven." He said warningly when she made no movement. "Number One is ready to catch you should Number Five not be up to the task. He will jump up to catch you, you shouldn't be harmed."

"I _shouldn't_ be harmed." Vanya repeated hollowly.

"You will _not_ get hurt, someone will catch you."

"I want a piano."

"A..."

She savoured the second of pure bewilderment that crossed Reginald's face.

"A _piano_?"

"Yes. If you want me to jump, I want a piano."

"Number Seven, I gave you an order."

"An order that will put me in danger." Vanya said, allowing her voice to morph into a whine. She was supposed to be a child. "I'm getting too good at the violin, I need a new challenge. You're using me to challenge their powers – I want a challenge too."

"Number Seven, I will not be blackmailed."

She folded her arms. "Then I'm not jumping. You can make Pogo do it. Or Mom."

He arched a brow at her. "You're being unreasonable."

"I'm being unreasonable? You're asking me to jump off a roof."

Reginald stared at her for a moment before slowly replying. "I will consider it – _if _as you say your playing has gotten '_too good_' and you demonstrate exemplary behaviour."

"I will. I _do_." Vanya said. She turned and looked down at her waiting siblings. A part of her wondered if they would let her fall and die – rid the world of the threat once and for all. Another part wondered if that had been Reginald's motive all along.

Nodding at Luther she stepped off the roof, not pausing like before.

Diego stayed firmly back this time, as did Ben. Luther was prepared to jump, but they all knew he didn't need to. Five would catch her, and he did.

The noise of air whistling too fast past her ears barely registered before he was holding her and dragging her up into the bedroom. She helped push herself in and found herself in a hug so bone crushingly tight her ribs protested.

"_Five_! You're hugging me too tight." She complained.

"Why," he ground out through a clenched jaw, "did you do that?"

"Dad told me to."

"You shouldn't listen to him, Vanya. About _anything_."

"V-_Vanya_?" She asked, injected confusing into her words.

He pulled back but kept his arms around her. "And you can stop that too."

Fear built up within her and she had to take a second to breathe to ensure it didn't explode out of her and hurt Five in the process.

"Stop what?"

"I know you remember."

She pushed his arms off her and looked deeply into his eyes, scanning them for confirmation.

"_How_?" She asked cautiously.

"I know you better than you think I do – even after all this time." Five replied. He sighed when he saw that wasn't enough for her. "You're not playing the violin like you used to. You're...more guarded. And better."

She took another deep breath.

"You can't tell them."

"Vanya..."

"Five, _please_. It'll be a disaster." Vanya pleaded. "Look, the first time Dad gave up on me when I was _four_ and drugged me into oblivion. I lost control because Leonard manipulated me. The second time around I was lied to and locked up. Maybe this time around things might go better if someone asks me how _I_ want things to happen."

She took his silence as a sign to continue.

"I don't _want_ to be drugged again, I don't enjoy feeling that way. And I don't want my mind altered and I don't want Luther throwing me into a cage. I _want _to learn and I want to get better. You of all people should understand that, you wouldn't have got stuck in the future if you didn't. And I _know_ I made mistakes that got people killed, but unfortunately _my_ power isn't making people forget or going back in time to fix them. I just have to deal with them and I _plan_ to."

"We can make this work – we're already working to change things."

"Yeah, I've noticed." Vanya said, unimpressed.

"We will stop it this time."

She snorted derisively. "By leading the Vanya-is-great parade?"

"Things were bad the first time around. We didn't treat you fairly. This time..."

"You're just being nice because you're scared of me." She snapped over him.

His silence felt like a slap to the face.

The White Violin sneered at her as tears welled up in her eyes.

"Hey, hey." Five said, sounding alarmed. "Don't do that."

"What, _feel_!" Vanya yelled through her tears. "I think I'm allowed. Oh wait, _no_ I'm not. I forgot, that's what the pills are for!"

"Vanya, you know that I love you right? That we all do." Five said, pointing out the window.

Her increasingly red eyes showed that she didn't know that.

"You were going to kill me." She accused.

His eyes pleaded with her. "No."

"_Yes_." She argued. "When I saw all of you out there at the concert hall I thought you had come to support me, but I should have known better."

"Vanya," he grabbed her arms, "I swear I will never lock you up. I will not make you take those pills and I will never kill you. And if you want me to help you train, I will – but we _have_ to tell the others. If things are going to be different this time we all need to be on the same page. We need to work as a team."

"_No_."

"Vanya..."

"Stop _calling_ me that." She pleaded. "I'm not Vanya, I'm Number Seven. And unless you want Dad to figure out what's going on we need to get outside, we've been taking too long. He's going to get suspicious."

"_Vanya_..."

"Trust takes time, Five. We're not ready for the group hug, okay." She said adamantly. "Now let's go."

She opened the door when a hand on her wrist stopped her and then it felt like her world was collapsing and expanding all at once, with her lungs failing to draw oxygen while her head felt light. Then they were beside the still closed front door.

Vanya looked at Five accusingly.

"I wouldn't have done it if I thought you would get hurt, sis."

He pulled out a handkerchief, because of course Five carries a handkerchief now the old lunatic, and passed her it to dab away her remaining tears.

Once she looked like her normal repressed self, he opened the back door and ushered her back into the courtyard.

"Five – _nine minutes_." Reginald called down from the roof.

"Teleporting took it out of us." He excused, rolling his eyes as his Father practically lit up.

"You teleported together – successfully?" Reginald asked, casting a critical eye over Number Seven as if he expected her to be missing a limb or to have her head on backwards. His notebook was open again.

"Evidentially. Though you will tell me Number Seven, won't you," Five said loudly, "if anything falls off later."

She didn't smile back even as she wanted to.

"Seven?" Ben said, opening his arms in offering.

Vanya stepped into them hesitantly and Ben hugged her gratefully, even as her arms remained passively at her sides.

"You scared the hell out of me." He grumbled again even though he knew this time around she would be fine.

"Ven, are you okay?" Diego asked, Allison joining him in running over to their sister.

"She's fine." Five said. "I, on the other hand, am feeling a little insulted that this family has such little faith in me."

"Welcome to my world." Klaus said, elbowing past Diego and Allison to pounce on Ben and Vanya's hug. He hadn't bothered with the pretence of falling down the stairs; this time he cared even less about appearances. Though interestingly he seemed to be training harder than before. Something which caused the White Violin to speculate and worry, while making Vanya cautiously optimistic that things could turn out differently for Klaus this time around.

Luther hovered behind the siblings where they had crowded around Number Seven. His behaviour wasn't much different yet from their original childhood, though this time his distance was out of caution rather than disinterest. He was trying to be more considerate, which Vanya couldn't fault even as her darker side wanted to rip off one of his appendages.

Once Reginald had finished scrawling down his latest observations of Five's power, which from his perspective had unexpectedly improved in precision and speed seemingly overnight, he was calling for Number Seven to come upstairs again.

Ben and Klaus released her, Ben again asking her to wait by the door.

It was nearly over, she thought to herself with no shortage of relief as she walked up the stairs. Sighing as she started up the stairs again, she internally cursed herself as she saw with her exhalation some frames on the wall seemed to tremble. It had been two days since her last half a pill. Maybe it was time to take another, Vanya reasoned.

"Number Seven?" Father called, once she stepped through the door.

"Yes, Father."

"Have you remembered to take your medicine today?"

"Of course, Father." Vanya replied.

"Are you sure?"

Vanya hoped her gulp wasn't noticeable. "Yes, I took it with lunch. Like I always do."

She'd been hiding it under her tongue.

He looked at her a beat longer before walking back to the ledge and starting the clock for Ben.

Vanya paced a little this time while she waited. It was annoying Reginald, she could tell. But he was more interested in his notebook and didn't take the time to scold her.

Ben opened the door and a tentacle waved in front of her in greeting, which Vanya reached out to grab. For some reason, since Ben's reappearance, she had found the thought of coming into contact with the creature easier than Ben himself.

"Good, Number Six." Reginald commented, observing the interaction. "How is your control?"

"They won't hurt her." Ben said confidently.

"Excellent. Time is ticking though, Number Six." Reginald reminded them.

Opening the door, Ben led Vanya downstairs to the next floor. He didn't offer to release her and more tentacles joined the first in quick succession.

"Do they scare you?" He asked as they walked along.

"Do you want me to be scared of them?" She asked in her best shy Number Seven voice.

One tickled her stomach and she laughed, hoping Ben didn't notice the resulting tinkling of the chandelier above them.

"You're my sister – of course I don't want you to be scared." Ben said, watching over her as she squirmed. "I want you to trust me and know that I would never hurt you."

She laughed louder as another tentacle got her, finally pulling out of reach to snatch a breath. "_I know_. Now stop it, we're meant to be getting downstairs."

"Stop? But it sounds to me like you're having fun." Ben said, his tentacles raising to fan out behind him menacingly.

"You wouldn't dare." Vanya screeched as she ran ahead with Ben in chase.

The remaining five were amazed as Vanya burst out the doors with Ben, Ben who usually never let his powers see the light of day, stalking her. One arm latched out and wrapped itself around Vanya's waist, lifting her up above his head.

"I won!" Ben cried, punching his fist to the sky.

"Number Six, put Number Seven down now." Reginald shouted from the roof.

"I'm fine, Father. Really." Vanya called back up, enjoying being hoisted into the air. "They're not hurting me."

"_Number Six_." Reginald repeated in a tone which made all seven of the children flinch. Even today, when they all knew how capable they were of breaking him, that voice was capable of making them feel like helpless children.

Vanya landed softly on the ground and then watched with interest as Ben lifted his jumper so the tentacles could curl themselves back into his chest, flattening against his ribs and abdomen, growing smaller as they sunk partially into his flesh.

Seven was excused quickly after that, Father calling the rest inside to review their progress while she was told to continue with her independent studies.

She waited for that inevitable knock at her door after dinner as her siblings came to confront her about everything that had transpired last month – eighteen years in the future – but it never came.

Just as it had never come that first day they had arrived.

They'd awoken in their beds, taking the places of their past selves, each of them dealing with the horror (or re-horror in Five's case) of finding themselves back in their young bodies alone.

Back in the day they had all adhered to a strict schedule, which started with a seven am alarm followed by breakfast. The siblings had filed down to the table and found Vanya already there, being fussed by Grace who was complaining the girl was too pale.

"Are you sure you're all right, Seven dear? You look a little peaky."

"Yes, Mom. I just have a headache this morning." Vanya had said, taking one of the pills that Grace automatically offered her. She swallowed it with a sip of water.

The six paused as they took their seats, looking at each other to try and communicate their confusion and disbelief with nothing more than eyebrow raising and eye contact.

The arrival of Reginald Hargreeves, which caused a universal flinch amongst the others, destroyed any chance for conversation until they returned upstairs to prepare for training. For the Umbrella Academy that meant putting on those horrible tracksuits; for Seven it meant grabbing her violin and starting yet another day of near isolation.

Vanya had known the second she saw them they remembered as clearly as she did, yet their perception of her fragility had made them unsure of her. Was it Vanya or was it Number Seven – she could see the question written plainly across their faces as they watched her every movement out the corners of their eyes.

She couldn't bear it. She couldn't bear _them_ and she'd known then that if this was an opportunity they were giving her she was taking it.

There would be no apocalypse talk and she easily took the pill from Grace's hand, swallowing it down. That decision could be made later once their focus died down a little. If it ever would again.

Reginald excused them from the table and, as was often her routine back in the day, Vanya lingered to help Grace clear the table. She had felt it was her duty back then – she had no powers to contribute, she provided no worth to her purchaser. The least she could do was to help clean the house.

Now she did it to delay being alone with _them_.

When she got upstairs her siblings were moving in and out of each other's rooms having been trying to piece together a plan. Vanya knew Seven would have thought they were just enjoying not having her around and she played it that way, ducking her head as she made her way to the bathroom.

"Hi Three." Vanya shyly greeted, as she saw the bathroom was already occupied. Allison had just finished brushing her teeth and was now staring into the mirror with thinly veiled horror.

Seven always spoke to her siblings with that tone. One of timid disbelief that she was stood in their presence and they were acknowledging her.

Three quickly moved towards her before coming to a complete stop in the doorway. "_Seven_." She said warmly, looking ready to cry as she set sights on her only sister. Her arms twitched up as if ready to wrap her in an embrace, but Vanya spoke before she could.

"Erm, can I get past?" Vanya asked, pointing behind her. "Or are you still using it?"

"Oh – erm. No, go right ahead." Allison said, her brow furrowing in confusion. She moved out of the way, not taking her eyes off Seven until the door shut gently in her face.

Once Vanya had closed the door, she turned on the shower then hurried back to eavesdrop on her siblings' conversation.

"I don't know, we can't exactly go up to her and ask – _hey_ do you remember being thirty and starting the apocalypse? I mean if she doesn't she'll think we're all _insane_." Klaus was saying.

"What do you think, Five?" Luther asked.

"You saw her when she was on that stage, she might not even have been fully aware. And then with the time travel – I don't know. I didn't do the calculations for this jump." Five muttered. "And she wasn't conscious when we jumped – _I don't know_."

It was rare for Five to make such an admission. Even rarer to make it twice in one statement.

Vanya pulled back and got in the shower. They only had the two bathrooms in their wing of the house and her siblings always got priority. It had been annoying as a child, having to get dressed for breakfast only to then get a shower after, but now it provided a blissful moment of peace.

The day alone had been heavenly, for the first time in her life. Picking up the violin had scared her immensely, but she knew her young body has well medicated.

As she played she planned. There was no way she was carrying out yet another childhood in hopeless nothingness. Yet she also had to keep her powers and feelings under control. It would be difficult, that much she knew from reading Reginald's notes on her. And keeping it a secret from her now ever vigilant siblings would be even harder.

But she knew immediately that it was the way it had to be. When she saw Luther and Pogo that morning she had wanted to scream. Father she wanted to skin. Even Grace, designed as her watcher more than her Mother, angered her that morning. Her powers had to be under her command before she could talk to the others about everything that happened in the future.

And so that was how things had progressed. Her siblings were never fully convinced of her memory loss, mostly believing that it was temporary and that the wrong phrase would remind her of everything.

Now she knew that Five was onto her and perhaps had been this whole time. Why hadn't he told them of his suspicions?

With the passing of another uninterrupted night she slowly allowed herself to believe that he might keep her secret. With the passing of three nights she was glowing, especially when he invited her into the training room one afternoon to teach her how to fight.

He pointed to the punching bag. "I know we already did this but if we're really keeping this up, we have to repeat it."

Vanya smiled timidly. "To be honest, I don't really remember the first time very well. Just that I was worried Reginald would find out and you'd get into trouble."

"You don't remember?" Five asked, insulted. "How can you _not_ remember? I'm the best teacher ever."

Vanya held up her hands. "Sorry."

"Hmm, well I'll try to make this time around more memorable." Five said, offering her a smile which still seemed too sarcastic. He didn't smile like her Five used to – not yet anyway, he'd been alone too long.

"Now let's start by working on your stance."

Five smiled as things progressed pretty much the same way they did the first time around. Until the ground thumped when she finally hit the bag correctly.

"_Vanya_?" He asked alarmed.

"It's okay, it's okay." She quickly said, putting her hands back in the air. "That wasn't me."

Klaus and Diego ran past then, Klaus obviously having stolen something of his brother's if his delighted laugh and Diego's angry shout was anything to go by.

"Sorry." Five quickly apologised.

Vanya looked at him sadly. "It's okay. You're right, maybe this wasn't the best idea."

"No..."

"I have to get to the study anyway," she said, cutting across him, "I'm playing the violin for him this afternoon. He wants to see how I'm getting on."

Five's eyebrows shot up. "He never did that before."

Vanya scuffed her shoe against the ground a little guiltily before confessing, "I may have told him I'd mastered it. Small slip. Now he wants to hear me play."

"It's okay. I nearly called Four Klaus yesterday in front of the old man – it's hard for all of us not to slip up."

It _was_ hard. It was something none of them should have to do again.

As always everything that had gone wrong was all her fault.

"I am," Vanya cleared her throat as her words got stuck. "I am grateful to you all, you know. For going through this again. I know you're doing it for the _world_, not me but..."

"We're doing it for the world _and_ you, Seven." Five corrected.

Nodding, Vanya desperately wanted to believe him. She also wanted to hug him again, but she figured making him relive his childhood was probably enough suffering for him.

"I'll see you at dinner."

"Okay." Five agreed. "And, hey. We were all thinking about sneaking out for donuts this weekend when the old man goes away. You're coming along."

"I am, am I?" She asked.

"If I have to zap you there to do it."

Vanya's nose wrinkled. "I don't know how you do it, it felt awful."

"Well now you know why I spent so much time after training in the bathroom. I nearly puked up a lung one day." Five admitted with a reminiscent grimace. "It was worth it in the end though. And I know it's difficult for you now, but once you master this you'll be glad. We all have a love-hate relationship with our powers but none of us can deny they're a huge part of who we are. You deserve to get to know that part of you."

"What if I can't do it?" Vanya asked, barely able to think it let alone say it. "What if I wreak everything again?"

"Well luckily for you, you have a time traveller for a brother who is very much motivated to keep you alive. Even if it means going through puberty _again_." He said, adding a dramatic shudder for effect.

"Thank you, Five."

"You're welcome, Seven."

She darted off with a nervous wave when she heard Mom calling her name, saying her Father was waiting.

Her knees almost started knocking together as she walked into the study but, as she had taken half a pill yesterday and as she was playing a complicated piece (Bach's Partita No.2, Chaconne – she'd always loved Bach), Vanya was confident she could play without _literally_ bringing the house down.

Picking up her bow, she took a moment to ensure her instrument was placed correctly and comfortably under her chin, before she pressed her fingertips into the strings and played. In an extra act of showing off, and in ensuring the White Violin was thoroughly distracted, she'd left her sheet music upstairs and played from memory.

Closing her eyes to the distraction of her adopted Father's evaluative gaze, Vanya allowed herself to feel the piece of music for the first time since she'd nearly killed everyone and destroyed everything on the planet. She was vaguely aware her powers were amplifying the sound however it wasn't destructive, rather it felt like a pleasant release similar to the day she auditioned for first chair.

The sweet sound wafted around her, dancing up and down her finger tips, along and around her spine, out the ends of her hair, radiating around her like a soft aura which could only keep her safe even in a house so associated with unhappiness.

The tempo grew softly, never harsh to the ears even as the pitch rose and she allowed a little narrow vibrato. The backs of her eyes showed her the notes until she barely needed to remember, her mind only concentrated on the music and its perfection.

In no memory before her audition had she played so wonderfully, beautifully and wholly. It felt like her spirit sung through the notes and she wanted the moment to last for the rest of her life. However, no matter the brilliance of Bach, it was impossible to pen a score which had no end and she sorrowfully brought it to a close.

When her eyes opened she was surprised to find them damp.

Proud clapping started to her left and she turned to see her Mother and the Umbrella Academy stood closely beside her, all looking so small yet projecting an undeniable age. Her Mother's applause was joined slowly by her siblings, first uproariously by Five and Klaus, followed by a proud Allison and Ben, with an appreciative response from Luther and Diego (the two who had always most disliked classical music).

Reginald dismissed them all with a sharp word, which Grace hastened to enforce, leaving only Vanya in the room beside him.

"This way Number Seven." He ordered, directing her out the room.

For one chilling moment she thought she had given herself away and he was taking her back to the cage below the house. Instead they turned for the staircase and went up to the second floor. They passed to the opposite wing of the children's quarters, filled with unused guest bedrooms.

Reginald opened the door to the first room along the hallway where the bed frame had been turned onto its side and the furniture pushed to the walls to clear space for a baby grand.

"I expect you to still play the violin, it won't do to master one skill then abandon it in favour of a new _whim_."

She paused for a moment, in disbelief that she had actually succeeded in getting her way, before quickly agreeing to the terms.

"_Yes_, Father." Vanya said happily, moving forward to lift the lid and run her fingers over the cool keys. "I'll practice them both every day."

"See to it that you do." Reginald chided. "I won't see waste in this house and if I come to this room and find it sitting under dust, I will remove it."

"I understand, Father."

Vanya beamed at him until he left before swirling to examine her new challenge.

Everything seemed so simple without her medication, instructions easily translating from her brain to her body. Especially things involving sound. She was confident she could master the instrument in no time and hopefully with the challenge she could find more positive outlets for the White Violin. Her power had come out this afternoon to no negative effect; perhaps there was a way to overcome her power's more destructive side.

And maybe one day she could even show Reginald her powers. She wondered if he would be proud or if he would still fear her.

The next day her siblings found, or more accurately overheard, her new hobby and hastened to join her.

Diego quickly groaned: "God, it's even _louder_ than the violin. I can hear it from the other side of the house!"

"Shut up." Allison scolded, elbowing him in the ribs. "It's _beautiful_, Seven."

"Isn't it?" Vanya said proudly, looking up from the keys where she was trying to press out To a Wild Rose. The song wasn't that difficult, but she still hadn't figured out how to use the pedals effectively and having the separate actions of each hand and each foot was delightfully testing.

"How come you got that?" Luther asked curiously.

It wasn't unheard of for the siblings to get items characterised as non-essential from Reginald. However their requests were usually only considered if they did something he considered worthy of reward. Which wasn't much, especially for Number Seven.

Luther had received his record player, records and model planes. His music tastes didn't often align with Vanya's however, since their arrival, he had requested a compilation of Vivaldi solely for her use, which she'd awkwardly accepted under Allison's watchful gaze (it had been no mystery to her who had prompted this uncharacteristic warmth from the usually distant Number One).

Diego had got a dartboard once, for more recreational target practice, which was followed by the siblings' first bike. This time around Diego had offered to let them all use it instead of guarding it solely for himself, although they were still only allowed to cycle in the courtyard.

Allison received a pet rabbit, ostensibly to practice using her powers on (which hadn't worked and who had unfortunately died a few months later after Klaus fed it a chocolate bar – apparently it looked hungry and he thought it would like it better then 'dumb carrots'). She also had the best furnished room out of all the children, who often used it as their collective meeting place.

Klaus had managed to infuriate them all (but mostly Allison) by being the first to successfully request clothes other than the standard Academy uniforms. The clothes were almost painful to look at, coming nowhere near Klaus' typically eclectic style, but there was no umbrella detailed anywhere upon them and Klaus took to wearing them whenever they were out of Reginald's sight (although he refused to touch the sweater vests).

Five constantly received stacks of notebooks for his equations – he wasn't interested in much else although he had occasionally been given some toys when he was younger that were still dotted around the room, untouched.

Six was constantly getting new books after Pogo pointed out to Reginald that the library didn't hold many books suitable for anyone not holding an undergraduate degree. Like the first time, he often loaned them to Vanya once he was finished with them; offering them up as a distraction while the six were away from the house or as a pleasant escape into another world when things got too much.

Vanya was never given much, even her beloved violin was a hand-me-down not bought with her in mind. That the piano was purchased especially for her made her feel positively aglow.

"Father said I could try a new instrument if my violin was good enough." She told them, looking back down at the keys.

"You got that for playing the _violin_?" Klaus whinged. "I finally managed to climb up that damn rope yesterday and _I_ didn't get a piano. Not that I'd really want a piano, but _still_."

"Perhaps, Number Four," Reginald said from the doorway, startling them all, "if you applied yourself to _your_ training as well as Number Seven has to _hers_ you would also be rewarded."

Vanya shot Klaus a sympathetic glance as Reginald walked away but inside the White Violin crowed. Perhaps her more vindictive tendencies still needed a little work, she considered wryly. But, she thought as Five winked at her before zapping out the room, at least she would not be alone during that uphill battle anymore.

* * *

For anyone wondering about the chapter titles the 5 means the test Reginald Hargreeves runs in this story is mainly for Number 5 (as he wants him to teleport with someone and uses Vanya to try to accomplish this), it is the 68th test and this one is 03 because this is the third timeline (5.068.03) - obviously the second timeline would've been the same as the first so I'm not writing an 02. I've seen a few stories where Vanya arrives in the past with no memory and I wanted to turn it on its a head a bit. Also in case you think Reginald is being too nice with the piano, after seeing the start of the last episode I started to think that maybe he does have an appreciation for music as it reminds him of his lost love (I'm really hoping they stick to the alien backstory from the comic here). And as the children have objects that must have been gifts, as I can't picture them getting pocket money, (like Luther's record collection) he must give them things on occasion but I picture that as some sort of weird social conditioning on his part were he only rewards good behaviour. Like Vanya following his instructions about jumping and then achieving successes in her independent studies. Anyway I'll stop rambling now - I hope you enjoyed the chapter and the story as a whole, please let me know if you did. I have made a series in case I make more one-shots. I had planned for this to be an occasional occurrence as I am meant to be focusing on editing my book but since I keep adding to a list of story ideas you may not have to wait all that long! 


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